Friday, 23 December 2011

What to do with Christmas Leftovers - Freeze Them!

So tomorrow is the day that I cook my Christmas Turkey (and I will prepare some of the vegetables for our big Christmas meal too) and this is the last idea that I had about what to do with Christmas Leftovers and it was something which I am sure we all wonder about, but aren't sure how to do safely. I decided that what we should do with our overly large Turkey was to freeze the Leftovers in portions suitable for what they were being used for and for my family.

The best time to freeze the Turkey is on the day it is cooked. In other words, once you have carved up your Turkey for use on Christmas Day spend a few minutes more carving up the rest. You can leave some in the fridge for use in the next couple of days (There is nothing like picking at Leftovers right?) but the rest should be portioned up and then wrapped or put into containers as quickly as possible.

I like to freeze mine in different sorts of portions. There is always a lot of meat left over that can be used in Sandwiches and so I freeze enough to make a round of sandwiches for my family (with a little spare for an extra sandwich as I know what Daddy is like!). I put stickers on my food with the date the food was cooked and frozen and the date a detail of what the food in the container is. I will also freeze a potion to make into Turkey Pie, Turkey Curry or Turkey Salad! If it has been a very large Turkey then I will freeze more than one potion but they will all have the right labels on so that I don't have to defrost more than is needed for one meal!

I hope that no matter what you do with your Christmas Leftovers, that you have a great time and enjoy the great food that you have cooked!